Cleaning your toilet tank is pretty quick and easy with vinegar and baking soda. You only need to do it once or twice a year, and it can help get rid of bacteria, mold, and mineral deposits to keep you and your family healthy.
Regardless of your toilet's material, the vinegar is not strong enough to damage the toilet or the toilet's plumbing. So, you can leave the vinegar in your toilets overnight without worry. This post may contain affiliate links.
After you've poured the vinegar into your toilet, leave it to work its magic for 3-4 hours. If your limescale is particularly bad you can leave it overnight.
You can use straight or a diluted vinegar cleaning solution for the bathroom to clean bacteria, especially around the toilet. Cleaning with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar in the bathroom can work really well. To clean your toilet with vinegar, pour a cup of vinegar in the toilet bowl and let sit overnight.
Add about 1 cup of baking soda to the toilet bowl, then add another 1 to 2 cups of vinegar. You should see and hear some fizzing action—this means that it's working! Let the solution sit and fizz for about ten minutes.
"The biggest don't when it comes to toilet tanks is bleach—do not use bleach or products containing bleach inside the tank, as it can corrode the internal parts of your toilet. If you are aiming to remove tough stains from the tank, I also recommend white vinegar diluted with water."
White vinegar, also known as distilled vinegar or spirit vinegar, is made by fermenting grain alcohol (ethanol) which then turns into acetic acid. Water is then added to the vinegar, so white vinegar is made of five to ten percent acetic acid and ninety to ninety-five percent water.
Another popular method for unclogging a slow draining toilet is using baking soda and vinegar. Pour one cup of baking soda into the bowl and then pour two and a half the vinegar over it. This mixture will create a bubbling reaction. Let it sit for about 20 minutes before flushing.
For extra-stubborn clogs, you can let the fizz mixture sit overnight or combine this method with plunging. If your toilet remains clogged or continues to get clogged, this may be an indication of plumbing problems such as mineral buildup or pressure issues.
Disconnect the cold-water inlet, hot water outlet, T & P valve, or element holes and, using a funnel, pour one (1) gallon of regular household cider vinegar into the water heater. (Do not dilute with water) ** NOTE: For Electric Heaters, it is recommended you remove the elements from the heater and lay them in a pan.
Pour vinegar into the tank
Pouring acidic cleaners down the toilet can help you prevent hard water stains and mineral deposits. Some people recommend lemon juice, but the most reliable and affordable product to use is white vinegar. Each month, pour a cup of white vinegar into the toilet tank.
If there are brown stains, it is probably from iron in your water. If you discover a thick, slimy mess, it is likely from iron bacteria growing in your toilet tank. Iron bacteria is a bacteria that fixes to iron particles in the water.
White vinegar substitute: If you need a different vinegar to substitute for white vinegar, use apple cider vinegar or malt vinegar. You could also swap in lemon or lime juice, depending on your recipe. When you're canning or pickling, there are no comparable substitutes.
White vinegar and distilled malt vinegar are both members of the vinegar family. However, they are not strictly the same thing. White vinegar is better for cleaning than distilled malt vinegar.
Brown vinegar, also known as malt vinegar, is made from barley. It is first made into beer and then allowed to ferment into vinegar. While brown vinegar is most popularly used in Great Britain as a condiment for fish and chips, it does have many other uses.
Vinegar and baking soda produce that oh-so-familiar chemical reaction that powers through buildup and loosens tough stains. While it might seem like it's chewing its way through grime, it's not powerful enough to damage the porcelain finish of the toilet bowl.
We would not advise using malt vinegar for cleaning. Malt (or brown) vinegar has a much stronger smell which makes it less suitable for cleaning - unless you like the chip-shop smell, that is! Its dark colour has also been known to stain some surfaces and fabrics.
Using either disinfecting wipes or a combination of disinfecting spray and a rag, paper towels, or a sponge (that you reserve just for this task), wipe down all of the external surfaces of the toilet, paying special attention to any areas you touch regularly such as the seat and the flushing handle.
If you need to clean the toilet quickly and you're out of cleaner, squirt a bit of toothpaste into the bowl. Grab the toilet brush and scrub away. The paste will remove stains and leave a fresh odor. It won't disinfect the toilet to get rid of bacteria, but it will work in a pinch.
Baking soda and vinegar, when mixed together, can form a chemical reaction that looks sort of like an eruption. This chemical reaction can help clear your toilet and any pipe clogs that you might have.